Texas Focus: Damsel

February 7, 2019 7:00pm - 9:30pm

Join the Bullock Museum for a screening and conversation about the film, Damsel.

It's the Wild West circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.

Event Details

Damsel was written and directed by Austin family filmmaking duo, David and Nathan Zellner. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Fim Festival in 2018. A loving reinvention of the western genre from the Zellner brothers (Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter), Damsel showcases their trademark unpredictability, off-kilter sense of humor, and unique brand of humanism.

A cinematic exploration of the Texas narrative, the Museum's Texas Focus Film Series highlights stories by, for, and about Texans. This season's selections center around classic ideas of Texas and Texans as viewed on screen. This evening's program includes a film screening and Q&A with filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner. Come early at 6pm for a welcome reception.

Please note: Entrance for this screening will be at the IMAX lobby doors.

Damsel was nominated for a Gold Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Best Film.

David and Nathan Zellner are Austin-based filmmaking siblings who have written, produced, directed and edited numerous films and music videos that have screened at festivals worldwide. This includes five shorts (Flotsam/Jetsam, Redemptitude, Aftermath on Meadowlarke Lane, Fiddlestixx, and Sasquatch Birth Journal 2) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival ('05-'11). Goliath, their first feature film, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by IFC Films. In addition to their work behind the camera, David and Nathan have also had notable roles and cameos in several independent films including.

“We didn’t want to do an ersatz version of the classic western. We knew we wanted to come up with an approach that would be interesting to us and do something different. We liked the idea of taking some of the tropes that are all too common – the hero and the villain, the damsel in distress – and giving them more levels, making it more complex. So we wanted to come up with a dynamic that would honor the tropes of the genre, but have it be more relatable on a human level, instead of these one-dimensional archetypes.” -- Zellner brothers on westerns

Brother filmmakers, David & Nathan Zellner have written, produced, directed and appeared in numerous award-winning shorts and feature films for more than a decade. Their work includes Goliath, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and Kid-Thing which premiered at Sundance in 2012 and internationally at the 62nd Berlinale. Kid-Thing received a 2012 Gotham Award nomination. Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2014 and internationally at the 64th Berlinale. It was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. The brothers premiered their latest feature and first western, Damsel at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and the 68th Berlinale. It was distributed by Magnolia Pictures in the summer of 2018. David and Nathan currently reside in Austin, Texas.

The Texas Spirit Theater located on the Bullock Museum's second floor is one of the most beautiful film experiences in Austin and features multi-sensory special effects such as lightning, rain, and other surprises.